39

Seeing that Yang Zhi seemed to have guessed the situation, Bo Chuan stopped saying more.

Yang Zhi gritted her teeth, “I need to ask her, what did I do wrong to offend her!”

Yang Zhi’s parents were confused and, seeing their daughter so enraged, couldn’t help but ask for clarification.

Yang Zhi, feeling dizzy with anger, said, “Mom, Dad, don’t ask me! I need to think for myself…”

Her former best friend, her partner in school—she couldn’t understand what she had done wrong. How could that person take such harsh actions?

Yao Hongxia, worried, looked at her cousin and advised, “Even if you want to confront someone, wait a little longer. Didn’t the Taoist Master say? You need to stay in the town for at least half a year.”

“Yes, yes, yes, Xiao Zhi! We don’t know who it is, but you definitely can’t go looking for her… You’re just getting better, and if you go, she might harm you again. If you want to tell us who it is, we’ll go instead.”

Bo Chuan spoke up, “That won’t happen. With the evil energy cleared, if I’m not mistaken, your friend’s bad days are coming.”

A yin marriage requires a ghost matchmaker. Under normal circumstances, the ghost matchmaker arranges everything. The process typically involves the ghost matchmaker arranging for the families to exchange the wedding invitations, obtaining a dragon and phoenix invitation after the marriage is arranged, then setting things up, preparing the dowry… the whole process follows the traditional wedding steps, except everything is made of paper. When the wedding is held, the woman’s photo is placed in a flower sedan and sent to the man’s grave, where it is burned. Only after everything is completed can the remains be buried together.

This so-called ghost matchmaker is essentially a feng shui master.

“If the yin marriage fails, the male ghost will likely have doubled resentment. The ghost matchmaker will suffer, and your friend probably won’t fare much better either.”

Yang Zhi spat, “She deserves it!”

Yang Zhi turned to Bo Chuan with a devout expression, “Taoist MasterPriest, thank you! I will definitely come to burn incense regularly. I’ll also have my parents order a supply table and chairs tomorrow.”

The supply table was something Lin You had mentioned to Yao Hongxia, and since Yang Zhi had been saved by Bo Chuan, there was nothing to hold back.

“By the way, Taoist Master, I noticed some of the painted statues in your temple are peeling. If you need help, I can assist with the restoration.”

Yang Zhi added, “I forgot to mention earlier, I was the top student in the art category in our province that year.”

Lin You looked at her in surprise. Being the top student in art was impressive.

Yao Hongxia couldn’t help but interject, “Not only did my cousin enter the school as the top student, but she also graduated as the top of her class!”

After everything that had happened, the earlier feelings of despair and wanting to give up had completely faded. In fact, after emerging from that emotional state, Yang Zhi was startled to realize how strange she had been recently.

She had studied painting for many years, and after graduating from university, everything had gone smoothly. Her exceptional skills allowed her to live boldly and freely. Returning to her hometown was to help with better creation. In fact, no matter where she painted, there was always someone willing to pay for her work.

After everything, she had been thinking earlier about how to die without feeling pain.

Just thinking about it gave her chills.

The Taoist temple in front of her, and the young Taoist Master who had saved her life, were her life-saving benefactors.

Painting a statue for her benefactor was nothing, in fact, she could even take on all the future statue restorations!

Bo Chuan didn’t hesitate to agree. The temple’s statues and sculptures were repaired by him, but the results were mediocre. Now that a skilled devotee had arrived and even volunteered to touch up the colors, it was an unexpected pleasure for him!

As a token of gratitude, Bo Chuan gave her a string of Five Emperors Coins.

Yang Zhi didn’t think much of it at first, but Yao Hongxia’s eyes widened in surprise.

She was quick to hear news in the town, and she had heard that this string of Five Emperors Coins was worth 10,000 yuan! Yao Hongxia had thought about asking for one for her son, but it was just too expensive!

Yang Zhi felt uneasy from her cousin’s reaction, but she solemnly hung the Five Emperors Coins around her neck.

Lin You observed everything, and after Yang Zhi was done, she indeed asked to take a photo together and even asked if she could post the photo on her own account.

Lin You glanced at her hundreds of thousands of followers and replied, “…Go ahead.”

Yang Zhi cheered, feeling that today was the luckiest day. Not only had she solved a major problem, but she had also met her idol.

While Yang Zhi was feeling fortunate, on the other side of Jingshui County, someone else was not in a good mood.

Guan Rui stared at her phone, her eyes fixed on the messages and incoming calls. Her dark, swollen eyes clearly showed she hadn’t slept well last night.

Her boyfriend, who had just come back from the internet cafe, threw his shoes off as he entered the door. It was as though all his bones had been drained as he lay on the couch, sneering and asking her, “What’s this? Do you have money on your phone? Why are you staring at it and not moving? You haven’t even made dinner.”

Guan Rui was in a fluster, not even hearing her boyfriend’s voice. She nervously bit her nails, leaving them uneven and ragged.

“Hey! I’m talking to you! Why aren’t you making dinner?”

Only then did Guan Rui snap out of her daze and, like a wandering soul, get up.

“Really stupid, damn it. Shouldn’t have gone for someone like this. Has nothing, but always talking nonsense.”

Guan Rui mechanically started cooking, her mind racing, unable to focus. The sword of tension in her mind quivered, but it hadn’t fallen.

It was already almost noon—why hadn’t she heard from Yang Zhi?

Guan Rui could hardly resist dropping everything to ask her cousin whether it had worked out or not. Why was Yang Zhi still alive? Hadn’t they said that once she had Yang Zhi’s hair, nails, photo, and birthdate, along with clothes and bags that Yang Zhi had worn, everything would be in place? Yang Zhi would surely be dead before today.

Why was she still alive? Why hadn’t she died?

Guan Rui’s hand holding the spatula trembled. The waiting was unbearable. In her mind, she felt a mix of urgency and fear, but couldn’t stop rehearsing her own excitement for when the news finally came.

In a daze, she thought she heard that Yang Zhi had jumped from her apartment, from her dreamy 20th-floor flat!

The sound of the wind cutting through everything was followed by the sound of an ambulance and the anguished cries of Yang Zhi’s parents…

Guan Rui’s face turned red as she excitedly raised the spatula to swing it.

Hahaha, Yang Zhi is dead!

Her boyfriend had been sitting in the living room watching TV, but suddenly, when he saw Guan Rui’s expression through the glass door, he froze, too frightened to move, even though it was broad daylight.

Guan Rui was excited for a while in place before gradually calming down and continuing to cook. After the earlier imagination, she felt much steadier.

It was understandable—Yang Zhi, someone who made a living by painting, was likely someone who overthought things, and with the nightmares tormenting her…

She was bound to die!

Her phone rang, and Guan Rui’s boyfriend still had cold hands. The scene from just now had deeply shaken him.

Even when he saw Guan Rui holding a knife to cut vegetables, he was scared that in the next second, she might come out with an inscrutable smile for him…

Guan Rui rushed out to answer the phone, and when her boyfriend saw her holding a knife, he screamed and, as if his butt had been set on fire, rushed out of the door without even putting on his shoes.

Guan Rui didn’t care about chasing after her boyfriend. She answered the phone, holding her breath, and waited for the other person to deliver the news.

“Did you lie to me earlier?! Does Yang Zhi have someone powerful beside her!?”

Guan Rui froze. “What powerful person? Cousin, what are you talking about?”

The voice on the other end grew louder, filled with a sense of exhaustion. “I’m asking you! Didn’t you know that Yang Zhi found someone powerful? Otherwise, why has everything changed? Damn it, she’s fine now! I’m in big trouble!”

It felt like a blow to the head—no words could compare to that one sentence: “She’s fine now.”

“That’s not right, cousin! Why is she fine? Didn’t you say she was definitely going to die?”

“…Are you brain-dead?” The man on the other end spoke rapidly, “She found someone powerful! Someone powerful!”

In this industry, there were no rules about levels—only the most skilled could dominate!

“I’m finished, and don’t think you’ll be fine either! I advise you to beg your friend quickly! Maybe if you beg her, you’ll avoid disaster!”

The man slammed down the phone, and Guan Rui felt a chill in her heart. When she finally came to her senses, tears were streaming down her face, and she was about to call Yang Zhi.

Yang Zhi hadn’t blocked her or ignored the call, which gave Guan Rui a glimmer of hope.

“Xiao Zhi? Xiao Zhi, where are you? Can I come find you now?”

The phone call still wasn’t enough. If she wanted to convince her, she would have to explain face to face.

Yang Zhi sneered, “What do you want to find me for? You didn’t make me jump from the building yourself, are you coming over to push me?”

Guan Rui’s voice trembled with sobs. “Xiao Zhi, don’t say that. I really can explain… none of this was what I wanted to do. It was my boyfriend who forced me…”

Yang Zhi: “You really are shameless, lying without any preparation. Fine, even if it was your boyfriend forcing you, I still want to ask you, were you really so easily swayed by him? I see you’re neither stupid nor deaf, always shifting the blame onto others, but not even bothering to look at what kind of person you are?”

Guan Rui had always known Yang Zhi’s temperament. When Yang Zhi confronted her, she was filled with resentment and fear, but she still kept trying to excuse herself.

Yang Zhi: “If you’re not going to tell the truth, then we’ll wait for the police to see us.”

Guan Rui was stunned. “Police? What police?”

Yang Zhi: “You don’t think you can escape punishment just because you stole my belongings, right? The clothes and bag I lost earlier, you took them, didn’t you?”

Guan Rui: “That was…”

“I don’t care what your reasons are. Just remember, I have surveillance at home. I didn’t check before, but that doesn’t mean I’m stupid. The bag and clothes you took are worth over five thousand, which is enough to file a case.”

Guan Rui never expected this to come up. Faced with Yang Zhi’s relentless pressure, the beast inside her could no longer be contained.

“Go ahead! I’ve known it all along, you’ve always looked down on me! With those clothes and bags worth over five thousand, you knew I would harm you. You let me harm you on purpose!”

Yang Zhi was about to say something but was interrupted by Guan Rui, who was ranting wildly.

“How could there be someone like you in this world! Why does everything go so smoothly for you? If you want to paint, you can paint. If you want to leave, you can leave. If you want to come back, there’s hot food waiting for you. Why is that?”

“I know you didn’t block me or ignore my calls because you want to know why I hurt you. Let me tell you plainly, Yang Zhi, you should die! Why don’t you just die? What good is your life, other than giving others shadows? Why haven’t you died after all I’ve done?”

Yang Zhi went from being furious at the beginning to a calm indifference. She no longer wanted to speak to this mad, jealous former friend.

What’s the point in saying anything? People blinded by jealousy always think that everything the other person does is wrong. Both of them started from the same place, but since one of them ended up in a less-than-ideal school, everything changed. The once cheerful girl was now full of complaints and blame. After graduation, the other returned to her hometown, where she could have had a good life in the small county town, but now, everything was in chaos.

Even though the other person blamed her, Yang Zhi didn’t feel responsible for the other person’s failed life. She couldn’t even be bothered to ask about the journey the other person had gone through.

What would be the use? Only when the other person ends up even worse than her, a failure, would she be able to listen to her advice.

Guan Rui was still going crazy, as if trying to vent all her frustrations. From the beginning of cursing, to later crying bitterly.

“Why are you living so well, and still coming to steal my boyfriend…”

Yang Zhi couldn’t hold it in anymore: “Who’s stealing your boyfriend?”

Guan Rui’s boyfriend had messy yellow hair, and couldn’t do anything right—how could her eyes be so blind that she’d fall for someone like him?

Guan Rui sobbed: “You have! After you went home, we met on the street, and you bought him milk tea and gave him a cup!”

“After you gave it to him, he kept praising you on the way. Why did you come back to ruin my life?”

Yang Zhi: “……”

Yang Zhi: “Are you out of your mind? I bought too much milk tea, I offered it to you, but you refused. Your boyfriend himself licked his lips and said he wanted to try it, so I gave it to him. Can you stop being so love-obsessed and get away from me!”